Chandigarh, Aug 22 (IANS): Medical services were affected on Monday after resident doctors of the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here went on strike demanding better facilities and security on the campus.

The strike by the PGIMER junior doctors was sparked by an incident on Sunday in which an angry relative slapped a doctor in the Emergency ward for delay in attending to his mother hours after she was admitted.

Medical services in the out-patient department (OPD) were severely affected on the first day of the week due to the strike. Patients in the OPD had to suffer.

The striking doctors have blamed the PGIMER higher authorities for inaction and not putting a system or facilities in place to ease the burden off the junior doctors who at times face unpleasant situations with patients and their attendants during heavy rush.

"We are doing our duty with utmost sincerity. However, the rush is too much at almost all times. Though there are other government hospitals in the city, most patients prefer PGI even when it is essential. This puts extra burden on the doctors, especially in the emergency," one of the striking doctors said.

Patients and their attendants said that they were being made to suffer with the authorities and doctors not resolving their issues to end the strike.

"Most patients come here from nearby states and have to fend for themselves. This strike means that the patients and their attendants have to suffer more," Gurpal Singh, resident of Sangrur town in Punjab who brought his mother for treatment on Monday, said.

A premier health institute of the region, the PGIMER caters to patients from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttrakhand and Chandigarh.